◈ Chapter 391. Know Thyself and Thy Enemy
The flow of time freezes.
I am accustomed to distorted axes of time.
Ever since I fought a life-and-death battle against the frost dragon, Froznax.
I spent quite a long time within absolute zero.
‘As if that were all?’
Most recently, there was also [Understanding of Darkness].
An instant became several days in reality.
And I had experienced the opposite as well.
Click.
Thanks to that, should I call it leisure?
I leisurely picked up the teacup. The green tea had gone ice-cold from the chill I had released, but the infinitely fastidious Grandfell became infinitely lenient before green tea.
‘Let’s see.’
Teacup in hand, I took my seat.
Then opened the book.
If you were to ask why I was suddenly reading, it was a book worth doing so.
[The Demon Realm’s Scripture, the True Necronomicon].
Squirm, squirm.
Its appearance looked quite ominous at a glance. Well, though it was not made from human skin like the legendary book of demons, the illustration on the cover moved as if alive.
Flash—
The drawn skulls shone with light in their eye sockets, and the skeletal horse snorted. By the way……. Before I examined the contents of the book, how must I look, holding a book like this?
‘As expected, I must look every bit like a Demon King.’
Grandfell was not simply benevolent.
After coming to understand even one-tenth of Grandfell’s past,
I had realized that fact.
That was why I was able to administer such a drastic prescription.
“D-Did the clock stop?”
“No. It hasn’t completely stopped—it’s still moving. It’s as slow as if the second hand has become the hour hand, but it’s definitely moving! A-Are we not in serious trouble?”
“More importantly, why did he suddenly take out a book……?”
Murmur, murmur.
Gazes turned toward me amid the commotion.
After freezing time, I sat there at ease.
Enjoying teatime and reading?
Even as they watched with their own eyes, they seemed dumbfounded.
But I was just as dumbfounded.
‘To think they would repay goodwill by stabbing me in the back.’
Raymon Sean.
His influence must have been deeply rooted in reality since before the Cataclysm. After all, who in the world dislikes money? Raymon Sean was an overwhelmingly wealthy figure in reality.
‘There must certainly be people tangled up with him in complicated ways.’
Not only in America, but in AAU branches and governments of every nation.
‘What he wanted was simple.’
Even if they were AAU branch heads, they could not help Raymon Sean when it came to Arcana. Raymon Sean, called the creator of Chronicles of the Arcana Continent, was not someone who needed help from others in that field.
‘Connections that would let him run rampant in reality.’
Through this incident, I learned it.
Politics, society, the economy.
And furthermore, the world relied on Raymon Sean for many things. Of course, I had moved quickly to respond. Thanks to that, I had been able to turn the players’ hearts toward the Yusra Kingdom.
However.
‘The branch heads are different.’
Because they are not players.
And because they have already committed crimes.
That must be why they cannot easily open their mouths.
‘If I had my way, I would force them to confess.’
But as I said, I am not the one who rummages through filthy muddy water.
It was not for the sake of dipping my hands and feet into mere muddy water
that I had straightened my attire.
Rustle.
Moreover, I had experience.
Yes, time solves everything.
This space, where the flow of time had been stopped by Absolute Zero, could be called a miniature version of Avici. Its effect may be inferior to Avici’s, but it did not matter.
Avici was something even elder mages with lofty mental fortitude, those demon worshippers, could not endure. For branch heads who were merely ordinary people, a miniature version would be more than enough.
Rustle.
Because I had confidence born from experience, I leisurely turned the pages. Befitting its grand name as the Demon Realm’s scripture, the Necronomicon was filled with knowledge of the Demon Realm.
[The Demon Realm’s Scripture, the True Necronomicon]
[Grade: Epic]
[Restriction: Only beings of the Demon Realm may read it.]
[Effect: Upon understanding, you acquire knowledge regarding the Demon Realm.]
[Description: A book written by the Demon Realm’s lich, Discus. It describes methods of surviving in the Demon Realm, which has been eroded by demons. In addition, it serves as a token that grants entry to Discus’s sanctuary within the perilous Demon Realm.]
Rustle.
As I turned the pages one by one…….
Discus, that guy, must have been far more remarkable than I thought.
I had guessed as much, since he had maintained his forces in the Demon Realm that had completely fallen to demons, and possessed the strength to challenge the high-ranking Demon King Buer.
But he was far more remarkable than I expected.
──────What rules the Demon Realm are the kings of the Ten Thrones. Their omniscience and omnipotence exert a close influence on the Demon Realm. Mentally and physically. To survive in such a Demon Realm, one needs rules of one’s own…….──────
Above all, the quality of the information Discus had left behind was considerably high.
If I had entered the Demon Realm without knowing this information…….
It would not have been strange if I had died a sudden, screaming death, quite literally.
In that sense.
‘What in the world are you, Grandfell?’
As if hunting down Wrath of the Seven Deadly Sins was not enough.
Buer.
And then Discus, who was equal to Buer, one after another.
Just what method did you use to hunt them?
If there were any video footage left behind,
I would want to check it.
‘……So I can imitate it, even roughly.’
In any case, this turned out well. With my entry into the Demon Realm ahead, there could be no information more precious to me than this. Since I had slowed the flow of time as well, let us slowly acquire knowledge of the Demon Realm.
In the frozen AAU branch heads’ conference room, I calmly turned the pages.
I felt gazes pouring down on me, but I paid them no mind.
I told you, didn’t I?
Until someone confessed, no one would be able to leave.
And since something to do had appeared at just the right time,
there was no longer any need for me to hurry.
*
The London branch head, Baker, rubbed both of his forearms.
“I feel a strange chill, Mister Park.”
[『Absolute Zero』].
However, it was strictly a chill imbued with consideration.
Having been reborn as a Demon King, Hoyeol had obtained a lofty level of magic manifestation. Thanks to that, he had frozen only the flow of time. He had not frozen even the air around them.
Then what was the reason for the current chill?
Park Minjae opened his mouth.
“It seems he is quite disappointed.”
It was probably because of the emotion Hoyeol was exuding.
At a glance, it was a peaceful sight.
The image of him holding a teacup and turning the pages of a book. However, it looked like a clear warning. The book Hoyeol held in his hand was the cause of the problem. Baker whispered.
“Indeed, in order to face the Demon Realm, one must know what kind of beings they are, mustn’t one? Just by looking at that cover, does it not seem like a book related to the Demon Realm, Mister Park?”
Park Minjae nodded.
“It certainly doesn’t look like one of Arcana’s skill books.”
They were experts on Arcana. That item definitely seemed to have come from the Demon Realm rather than the Arcana Continent. Baker smiled bitterly.
“The Demon Realm, is it. Even while questioning us, he has not forgotten the weight he carries, our Chief. In that case, we cannot be negligent either. Mister Park?”
Park Minjae nodded meaningfully and looked around.
Had they not resolved as much?
Demons were enough as beings who would hold Hoyeol back.
At the very least, in reality.
They would make sure that no one could hold Hoyeol back.
“Once Cosmo’s mad dog bites, he doesn’t let go.”
That was right.
Park Minjae and Baker had been moving behind the scenes. Because they were branch heads themselves, they could know.
Those who strayed from their assigned duties, turned their eyes elsewhere, and harbored ulterior motives stood out.
“The situation has changed from the past. I don’t know about those who ended up wandering outside, or those who deliberately looked away because they had guilty consciences, but weren’t we AAU, the ones who leapt toward the Strange?”
“That is true.”
“By now, the Magic Tower should have moved according to plan.”
In the early days of the Cataclysm.
The governments of various nations had tracked the flow of funds from the rift-clear reward money paid by Raymon Sean. Back then, when they believed Raymon Sean to be the root cause of the Cataclysm, they had thought everything would end if only they arrested Raymon Sean.
However, Raymon Sean was cunning.
“They could not find even a trace. From the personal information of hundreds of millions of users of Chronicles of the Arcana Continent to DNA information. No hacker could trace the detours that made use of that, the vast amount of nominee accounts, and even Cosmo’s enormous servers.”
Park Minjae summed it up in one sentence.
“It was the limit of science.”
However, as he had said, AAU was now advancing toward [『the Strange』].
“But if it is the Magic Tower’s magic, the story changes. When I heard from Tower Master Marcelo, he said there exists magic that reads the memories contained within a target.”
“Oh-ho!”
“Surely memories left behind in belongings are no exception.”
“……!”
At Park Minjae’s words, several branch heads flinched.
Even if they searched their pockets, there was nothing to be found.
An AAU branch heads’ meeting.
To prevent the agenda from leaking outside,
it was standard procedure to store all belongings outside the meeting hall before entering.
Park Minjae raised the corner of his mouth in a grin.
“Even if they paid attention to security and deleted everything cleanly, magic reads the memories themselves, after all. Since I do not completely understand magic, I cannot guess in what manner it will manifest. But it is the Magic Tower, of all places. They will surely be able to read them.”
Park Minjae leisurely looked over the branch heads.
“Thanks to the Chief stopping time for us, there is no need to hurry. Cut off perfectly from the outside, with your hands and feet bound tight, all we need to do is wait for the results. If you are clean and innocent, there is no need to feel anxious. However, if that is not the case…….”
“……?”
“The chill you feel now will seem like a cold hell.”
“……!”
Because the flow of time had stopped, they could not know the exact time.
However, by their senses, it did not take long.
One by one…….
“……Damn it.”
The branch heads whose shoulders had twitched rose from their seats.
With expressions as if they would burst into tears at any moment, they were looking at Yusra’s Chief.
At Hoyeol.
Rustle.
However, Hoyeol did not even give them a glance.
For him to spare his gaze on a few measly loaches,
the information of the Demon Realm
being engraved into his mind
“!”
was far too grave.
*
The Arcana Continent.
Behemoth’s Maw.
The one guarding the vicious passage to the Demon Realm was Gunner.
“No abnormalities have been detected at present.”
The Holy War Alliance, including the Iron Castle, had moved into action in order to sift out challengers. It was a struggle for the Demon King’s seat over the Ten Thrones. Their plan was to reduce, even by a little, the number of demons that might become an obstacle to Commander-in-Chief Hoyeol.
Gunner murmured quietly.
“……Though I do not know whether it will have any meaning.”
Gunner looked at the pieces of flesh scattered around the Maw.
The Arcana Continent had already been devastated by demons.
However, Behemoth’s Maw had been faithfully filtering out demons.
‘At the very least, half of them must have been torn apart like that.’
To put it simply, the vast number of demons that covered the Arcana Continent was a number that had already been reduced by about half. So he could not help but be worried.
“Just what kind of place is the Demon Realm?”
Moreover, he had heard the news that had reached the adventurers’ world.
That Maw no longer tore apart the demons of the Demon Realm, they said.
Gunner looked out over the Arcana Continent.
“……Can we remain safe before that great army?”
Perhaps the Commander-in-Chief had foreseen even this situation.
Perhaps that was why he had made his decision.
Since the Arcana Continent no longer had any means of withstanding the demons that would pour in, the only way to protect the continent was for him, their target, to throw himself directly into the Demon Realm.
Gunner had witnessed Hoyeol’s transcendent martial might as he crushed Discus. Even so, he could not feel at ease. Staring at Behemoth’s Maw, at that hollow hole, an inexplicable unease surged within him.
But.
Shake, shake.
Gunner shook his head.
“No, get a grip.”
It was the moment he admonished himself and gripped the control stick.
Twitch—
Behemoth’s Maw.
A vast presence surged from within that abyss.
Gunner’s eyes went wide.
“!”
What bastard is it?
He glared fiercely…….
But for some reason, the figure was not unfamiliar.
“Th-That is……!”
Gunner stammered. No matter how he looked at it, it was “that guy.” The skeleton that the Commander-in-Chief had defeated was once again revealing itself outside Behemoth’s Maw.
Gunner shouted urgently.
“Th-This is Gunner! The Demon Realm’s lich, Discus, has revived!!”
...
It is not a revival.
It is the Demon Realm’s setting.
I examined the passage of the book once more.
──────In the Demon Realm, flesh and soul are separated.──────
Then I recited.
“This is not bad news.”
……
If this goes well, could I be freed from my dark history?!